Welcome to The Chic Assignment for May, 2022. 

Chic Assignment No. 1 Song Without Words Op. 19 No. 1 by Felix Mendelssohn (performed by Daniel Gortler) 

Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847) was a German composer, pianist and conductor of the early Romantic period. We will learn more about Felix Mendelssohn in the mid-month check-in. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Song Without Words Op. 19 No. 1. It is so charming and delightful. 

Chic Assignment No. 2 Enjoy the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson 

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894) was a Scottish novelist and poet, most widely known for penning Treasure Island, and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He is also loved for his poetry. 

We are reading from A Child's Garden of Verses today. You can also find Robert Louis Stevenson's poetry for free on the Poetry Foundation website.  We will learn more about RLS in the mid-month check-in and enjoy more of his poetry. 

Chic Assignment No. 3 Wear a jewelry piece you haven’t worn in a while 

As we explore the art of expressing our true style, we should not forget the pieces we already have. Find a piece of jewelry (or other accessory) that you have not worn for a long time. Wear it at least once this month and see how you feel. 

Chic Assignment No. 4 Write down your strategy to stay calm 

As we explore the concept of gratitude and hopefully expand our capacity for it, we are going to further explore strategies for successful and grateful living. This month, I am sharing a new UNBOTHERED video that will help you devise a strategy to remain calm in the face of adversity. Write this strategy down so you can become more intentional. 

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Welcome to The Chic Assignment for March, 2022 Before we begin, I would like to express my heartfelt support for the people of Ukraine and everyone who is affected by the war. I have been praying for your safety and for swift peace. 

The Chic Assignment series is brought to us by The Chic Society, the private membership group on YouTube.  Joining The Chic Society gives you access to my exclusive members-only vodcast, which is published every Friday. I also do one livestream a month or do a Zoom call where we can all visit together and we now have a penpal program! Membership is only $1.99 a month (upper tiers are also available). 

Chic Assignment No. 1 Enjoy Vivaldi's Spring from The Four Seasons 

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741) was an Italian Baroque composer, most famous for The Four Seasons- a group of four violin concertos which give musical expression to each season of the year. We are going to listen to Vivaldi's Spring from The Four Seasons performed by The Capital String Quartet 

We will learn more about Vivaldi in the mid-month check-in. 

Chic Assignment No. 2 Explore the poetry of T.S. Eliot (1888- 1965)

T.S. Eliot was an American poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic, and editor. He is considered one of the 20th centuries major poets. 

You can read his poetry for free on Poetry Foundation and you can purchase T.S. Eliot Collected Poems

Today we read Whispers of Immortality and we will enjoy more of his poetry in the mid-month check-in. 

Chic Assignment No. 3 Prepare your ten-item wardrobe for the upcoming season

It's that time of year again: we will be preparing the transition of our wardrobes. Depending on where you live, you will either be preparing for spring or autumn, but the key is to be intentional. What do you need to get rid of from your wardrobe this time last year? It's time to rid yourself of clothes that are worn out, not your true style, and don't fit in your lifestyle anymore. It's ok to donate clothing and move on to something that is more your style. When you donate clothes you are blessing other people and that piece might be better suited to them. 

Chic Assignment No. 4 Journal your joy. Last month we focused on gratitude. By doing so we magnified what we were grateful for. This month we will journal our joy. You can do it whatever way you want, but if you need a prompt, you can write 10 things that bring you joy. That might be different from what you're grateful for. By journaling our joy we will expand our capacity for joy and will find that we experience more happiness and appreciation throughout the month. 

Welcome to the final video and blogpost for the year on The Daily Connoisseur. I wrote a Christmas poem called, The OWL, and had the vision to make it into an animated film. I do hope you enjoy it.

Welcome to The Chic Assignment Check-in for October. We are going to learn 5 interesting facts about Corelli, and dive into Rilke's transcendent poetry. 

Chic Assignment No. 1 Corelli Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 8 

Arcangelo Corelli (1653 - 1713) was an Italian violinist and composer in the Baroque era. We are listening to his concerto grosso op. 6 no. 8 this month. Even though this is known as The Christmas Concerto, it is also wonderful to listen to in autumn. We are learning 5 fun facts about Corelli from the Orchestra from the Age of Enlightenment. 

                                     Portrait painting of Rainer Maria Rilke by Leonid Pasternak - public domain

Chic Assignment No. 1 Corelli Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 8 

Arcangelo Corelli (1653 - 1713) was an Italian violinist and composer in the Baroque era. We are listening to his concerto grosso op. 6 no. 8 this month. This concerto is perfect for autumn. We will learn more about Corelli in the mid-month check-in. 

                                     Portrait painting of Rainer Maria Rilke by Leonid Pasternak - public domain

Welcome to The Chic Assignment Check-in for July, 2021. We are diving into the life of Gabriel Fauré and the poetry of Sufi mystic poet, Rumi. This has been a fun month.

Before we get into the assignments, I want you to know that The Chic Assignment will not occur in the month of August as I will be taking a small break. We will resume Chic Assignments in September. If you are in one of the upper tiers of The Chic Society, your mentions will be going into a different video in August. Also, Chic Society weekly vodcasts will resume in August. 

Chic Assignment No. 1 Enjoy Gabriel Fauré's Pavane Op. 50

Gabriel Fauré was a French composer (1845-1924) and was one of the foremost French composers of his generation. As a lover of classical music, I'm not entirely sure how Gabriel Fauré's work has escaped me until now, but Pavane Op. 50 is one of the most hauntingly beautiful works of classical music I've ever heard. This month I'm sharing an actual recording of Fauré playing this piece that dates back to 1913, Paris. I truly hope you enjoy it. We are learning ten interesting facts about Fauré's life from ClassicFM. 

Chic Assignment No. 2 Explore the poetry of Rumi 

Rumi was a 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic. He believed strongly in music, poetry, and dance as a way of communicating with God and his poems and famous quotes are steeped in deep wisdom.  I find his quotes to be particularly insightful. Here is a resource with some of his famous quotes. You can read his poetry online here.  The Essential Rumi is a book that contains his most important work. In today's video we are reading some of Rumi's most beautiful poems and phrases. 

Chic Assignment No. 3 Do a 15-minute Declutter

You would be amazed to learn how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes. I often set the timer when I'm facing a daunting task like cleaning the kitchen or folding a mound of laundry. We can apply the same 15-minute principle to our intimidating decluttering tasks. This month I shared a 15-minute decluttering challenge that I hope proved motivating for you. 

Chic Assignment No. 4 Prepare your wardrobe for the new season

Summer is upon us and it's time to go through your wardrobe to determine if any changes need to be made to account for the warmer weather. I shared my thoughts on elegant swimwear and ten-item wardrobe summer updates in this blogpost. 

I hope you enjoy this month's Chic Assignment. Let us know your thoughts in the comments and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog. 

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